Enzo Maresca’s side played more than an hour with 10 men at St James’ Park after Nicolas Jackson’s red card for a forearm to the face of Sven Botman, already trailing to Sandro Tonali’s 112-second goal before Bruno Guimaraes wrapped up the result in stoppage time.
It was a hugely disappointing afternoon that halted Chelsea’s momentum after a run of five consecutive wins across all competitions that included both legs of their Conference League semi-final tie against Djurgarden, keeping them fifth and above Aston Villa on goal difference only as Newcastle leapfrogged Manchester City into third.
The match at Stamford Bridge was originally scheduled for Sunday, only to be moved at the request of both clubs with Chelsea and Manchester United’s women’s teams meeting in the FA Cup final at Wembley this weekend.
They have now gone seven top-flight games without a victory since beating relegated Leicester on March 16, equalling their worst-ever run in the Premier League.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Chelsea vs Manchester United is scheduled for an 8:15pm BST kick-off on Friday May 16, 2025.
The match will take place at Stamford Bridge in west London.
How to watch Chelsea vs Manchester United
TV channel: Friday night’s game will be televised live in the UK on Sky Sports. Coverage begins at 7pm BST on Sky Sports Main Event.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also watch the match live online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: Standard Sport’s live blog will keep you fully up to speed on matchday, with expert analysis from Chelsea correspondent Malik Ouzia at the Bridge.
Chelsea vs Manchester United team news
Jackson’s dismissal on Tyneside and automatic three-game ban means he will miss both the visit of United and the trip to Nottingham Forest on the final day, as well as the first game of next season. He is, however, available for the Conference League final against Real Betis in Wroclaw on May 28.
It leaves Maresca without any senior strikers, with Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu still yet to return. Wesley Fofana, Aaron Anselmino and Omari Kellyman are also injured, while it was reported by Sky Sports that captain Reece James missed training on Tuesday.
Banned: Nicolas Jackson will miss Chelsea’s Premier League run-in after his sending off at Newcastle
AFP via Getty Images
Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho is ineligible to face his parent club, while Mykhailo Mudryk remains provisionally suspended.
For the visitors, Leny Yoro is being assessed after being forced off injured against West Ham. Matthijs de Ligt has been sidelined with a knee problem, with Ayden Heaven and Toby Collyer still out along with long-term absentees Lisandro Martinez, Joshua Zirkzee and Diogo Dalot.
Chelsea vs Manchester United prediction
The defeat at Newcastle and Jackson’s moment of madness will no doubt have wounded Chelsea, who had won three league games on the bounce to gather some real momentum alongside their progress to the Conference League final.
But they could hardly ask for better opponents for a crucially swift bounce-back than the domestic version of Manchester United, who have been a totally different proposition to the one that has advanced to the Europa League showpiece.
Losers of five of their last seven, they have been truly dire in the league of late and a trip to face a team with something big still to play for is unlikely to improve Amorim’s increasingly exasperated mood.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Chelsea hadn’t beaten Manchester United in any competition since 2020 before last season’s remarkable game at the Bridge in which hat-trick hero Cole Palmer scored twice late in stoppage time to seal a memorable 4-3 victory.
The two teams played out a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in early November, with Moises Caicedo’s volley quickly cancelling out a Bruno Fernandes penalty awarded for Robert Sanchez’s foul on Rasmus Hojlund. United were then under the temporary stewardship of Ruud van Nistelrooy after sacking Erik ten Hag.
Manchester United wins: 83
Chelsea vs Manchester United match odds
Manchester United to win: 15/2
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
